Natalia sighed. Olivia always knew when she was evading.
“Whether you have a big or small wedding, congratulations.” Ghost said.
Beside him, Valerie was beaming.
“Indeed, congratulations, Mistress Olivia. Natalia.” Z said.
Natalia smiled at them all as Olivia responded.
Jessica abandoned Z to edge her way to Natalia’s other side where she could admire the ring. “It’s absolutely stunning. Good job, Mistress Olivia.”
“Thank you, love.”
And Natalia leaned closer to Jessica. “You’re going to pop any minute, girl.”
“I know, right? I’m so ready. But my due date isn’t for another week, so I should be able to make your showing.”
Natalia’s eyes pooled with tears. “You don’t have to. It’s a small gallery and—”
“Pfft, of course we’re coming.” Jessica glanced at Olivia. “Will your family in England fly over for a wedding here? Or will you have it there?”
Natalia winced. Jessica had missed Natalia’s pronouncement of small and private.
“I rather think we’ll have it here with our friends,” Olivia paused and added, “then I’ll drag my sweet subbie home to England to meet the family.”
Olivia’s family? Oh no. Natalia squeaked like a trapped mouse.
And her evil Mistress laughed.
* * *
The announcement of Natalia and Olivia’s engagement had been a fantastic climax to a solidly good theme night.
Smiling, Ghost captured his own submissive and steered her into a sitting area sheltered by tall foliage. A perfect spot to have a word. Or two.
But first… Tangling his fingers in the heavy silk of her hair, he took her lips. The way she melted against him told him she trusted him as a Dom. She loved him as a man.
Her body didn’t lie.
He had a feeling she wouldn’t lie verbally, either.
“Since the evening is about half over, it’s time for an assessment.” Ghost ran a finger down her cheek and under her chin so she’d meet his gaze. “How many thoughts or verbal self-put-downs did you catch?”
She had the most luminous blue eyes he’d ever seen. Warm and open and…
Unable to resist, he kissed her again.
Her slightly befuddled expression when he finished made him grin. Damn, but he’d be happy to call it a night and take her to bed.
But no, this evening was for her. Well, mostly. Torturing her a bit was going to be fun.
“Valerie? Disparaging thoughts?”
“Well.” She bit her lip, thinking. “Maybe one thought when I first arrived. A couple of times with Kahlua’s insults, but I pushed them away and moved on. I have to admit, it was a relief to see her and my ex head out the door.”
“Of course it was.” Because from what he’d seen, the two would make her feel as if she’d stepped onto a battlefield. She’d shown courage in being so honest. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Thank you for sharing with me. I think punishment for the thoughts along with a reward for not letting them linger. Yes, a combination sounds appropriate.”
Her expression turned wary.
“If you hadn’t told me the truth, you would have spent the rest of the evening naked.”
She took a step back.
“I appreciate your honesty, sweetheart, and your dress will stay on…but open.” He unzipped the front completely, from neckline to hemline, and the edges fell open.
“Jesus, woman, you really are beautiful,” he growled. Cupping her breasts, he found her skin warm and slightly damp from the unforgiving vinyl. Her nipples responded to his fingers immediately, turning into perfect hard peaks.
Her lips were puffy from his kisses, her hair tousled from his fingers. She looked like someone who should be tossed onto a bed and ravished.
He couldn’t.
Fucking manager job.
But…her punishment would be a delightful diversion.
Gripping her forearms, he set them behind her back and locked her thin wrist cuffs together.
Straightening, he studied her face.
Ah, there were the first hints of nervousness, something any Dom would savor. And any sadist would enjoy what he was about to do next.
He pulled the first set of silvery chains from his right pocket.
“A necklace?” she asked.
“Mmmph, let’s call it body jewelry.” When he untangled a tweezer clamp from the chains, her apprehension visibly grew.
Nice.
Her velvety nipples were still jutting perfectly. He fastened one clamp on the left, tightening it until her entire body tensed. “Breathe, pet. Another.”
Savoring her submission to his will—and the way her lips pressed together, and her neck muscles stood out—he waited.
There. She started to relax.
Smiling, he clamped her right nipple and sent her onto her tiptoes as he tightened it.
Her pupils dilated, and she moaned. Her voice was pure sexy sin.
He had to reposition the hard-on tenting his jeans. He kissed her gently, then rougher, before whispering roughly in Arabic, “I love the way you react when I hurt you, the way you slide right into arousal.”
* * *
Oh gods, he saw her too well. Knew her too well. Even as the cool air brushed her heated skin, her clamped nipples pulsed in time with her heartbeat. The chain between the two clamps hung between her breasts. Another chain dangled straight down with another clamp at the end.
Surely not.
“Now.” The wicked pleasure in his eyes sent quivers through her. “This one is going to drive you mad, pet.”
He sat on the coffee table and guided her to stand in front of him. “Legs apart, please.”
No way.
His gaze met hers, held hers. And somehow her feet moved to a wide stance.
“There’s a brave lass.” He pulled a packet of lube from his pocket and squeezed some on his fingers. “Let’s get you nice and erect, hmm?” His slick fingers rubbed up and down on each side of her clit.
The incredible burst of pleasure made her knees shake.
“Now the fun part.” With the silicone-ended tweezers touching each side of the base of her clit, he slid the tiny ring up to tighten the ends.
“Ohhh!” As the pressure grew, she instinctively jerked back—and was stopped by his hand on her ass. Her protest emerged as a husky whine.
Sitting back on the coffee table, he had a slight smile on his firm lips. Head tilted slightly, he studied her…and slowly, the pressure on the sides of her clit transformed into the pounding bass drum of arousal.
“Very pretty.” He rose and pulled more chains from his pocket. A thin silver collar went around her neck, and the attached chains fell in pretty loops over her breasts. Another set fastened around her waist, spilling in more loops over her lower belly and crotch.
Whenever she moved, cool, silky metal brushed across her hot skin.
“Almost done. Perhaps something colorful would be pretty, don’t you think?” He attached a red crystal weight to each nipple clamp.
Ohhh. The edgy pain on her breasts stoked her fires higher.
With a merciless expression, he did the same with the clit clamp. The weight bumped against her labia with every movement—and tugged on the increasingly sensitive ball of nerves.
“Ghoooost, no.”
“Now you know what we’re doing, I’ll give you a choice.” He curved his hand around her nape, his gaze serious. “Since I can’t leave yet, we’re going to walk around the club. You can either wear your unzipped dress with—or without the jewelry. Of course, if you annoy me, you’ll be completely naked.”
Her mouth dropped open at the threat.
Fine, she wouldn’t annoy him. However, what about the other options? Try to walk with clamps on her breasts and, so much worse, her clit?
However, the jewelry gave her some covering, at least. Without the chains, her breasts and pussy would be on full display.
Her brain went into a meltdown, unable to decide.
His smile widened.
“You really are a sadist.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” When he tugged on the nipple clamps, then the clit one, sensations sparked across her nerve endings like fireworks.
She could feel the dampness growing between her legs as the pain slid into a heady carnal desire. “I don’t suppose we could simply go upstairs and play?”
He chuckled and traced one looping chain over her hip, her mound, to the other hip. Like the wake after a speedboat, he left a trail of heat behind. “Seems to me you have a punishment to serve first.”
“Next time, I’m going to lie,” she muttered.
Laughing, he motioned her to walk with him. Beside him, but on her own. Leaving her to face all the stares.
And people did stare.
Dammit, it felt as if her clit was poking out for everyone to see. Like it was ten times the size of normal. Rather than checking, she held her head high.
Ghost headed toward the bar. “Let’s get you a drink before we wander through the rest of the club.”
He chose a spot near the small replica of the Enterprise. Over her head, small planets dangled from the ceiling rafters.
Although Cullen had disappeared, probably to play with Andrea, Josie was still bartending. “Hi, Colonel—or I should say Captain. What can I get you tonight?”
“A Coke for me, please, and a Romulan Ale for Valerie.”
“Coming right up,” Josie said.
Valerie smirked. He’d have to release her hands so she could drink.
On Ghost’s other side, a white-haired Dom in long, heavy robes assisted an equally aged woman onto a barstool.
The Dom turned. “Ghost, how are you this evening?”
“Gerald, it’s good to see you.” The men shook hands.
Ghost set his hand on Valerie’s shoulder. “Martha, Gerald, this is Valerie.”
“A pleasure, Miss.” Gerald gave her a formal nod.
Martha had a totally sweet smile.
“Interesting.” Gerald studied her dress—and chains—before giving Ghost a laughing look. “You have a wicked streak in you.”
“Here and I thought I’d been very charitable.” Ghost grinned. “If she’s a good subbie, I won’t have to lead her using the leash.”
What leash? Valerie glanced down and stiffened. A length of chain ran between her clit and nipple clamps. If he pulled on it…
She wasn’t sure if she’d yelp or come.
Even as embarrassed warmth swept into her face, her nipples bunched tighter, adding to the pain of the clamps.
“You found an attractive discipline method.” Gerald turned to his wife. “I’m going to get you some chains, maybe in a darker color. They’d be lovely on you.”
“Yes, they would.”
When his wife beamed in delight, Valerie considered her. Martha was dressed as Lwaxana Troi—Deanna’s mother—in a bold jewel-encrusted dress with her shoulders exposed and plenty of cleavage.
Her breasts certainly weren’t perky, her face was wrinkled, her round belly also sagged.
Yet the way Gerald watched her said none of that mattered. He still desired his wife’s body. From Martha’s confident expression, his opinion—and her own—were all she cared about.
I’ve been an idiot. She could remember when she turned thirty-five and had been amused at the angst she’d felt in her twenties over everything—her appearance, dating, making love.
At Martha’s age, would Valerie look back on this year and be equally amused?
Achieving Martha’s serenity would be a worthy goal to strive for.
“Ghost, my dear. Sam and his Linda are joining us for dinner in two weeks on Sunday. You must come and bring your woman.” Martha winked at Valerie. “Just good company with all our clothing on.”
Valerie broke out laughing because the dress code was exactly what she’d been wondering about.
Smiling, Gerald harrumphed. “Back in our day, we enjoyed the kink parties, but now, we’re happy to play here.”
“Same,” Ghost agreed. He accepted the drinks from Josie with a quiet thanks. After putting a straw in the blue-hued Romulan ale, he held it to Valerie’s lips.
He wasn’t going to release her wrists? When she scowled, his mouth twitched with his amusement.
“You’re letting your subbie glare at you?” In a gray, hooded Vulcan robe, Nolan helped Beth—who wore a skintight T’Pol catsuit—onto a stool, then took the one beside her. “Sets a bad example for the newbies.”
Ghost huffed a laugh. “I’ll tug on her leash for every second of disrespect.”
Oh spit, not the leash.
Valerie slapped on such an angelic expression that angels probably circled her haloed head.
“Nice.” Nolan slapped Ghost’s shoulder and grinned at Beth. “I’m liking the potential of those chains—and clamps.”
Beth gave Valerie an appalled look before saying in the sweetest tone, “My wonderful, kind Master of the Universe would never want his ever-so-respectful submissive to endure such pain.”
The mean-looking Dom had a great laugh. “Nice try, li’l rabbit.” He glanced at Ghost. “When you get a chance, email me where you bought them.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The mild evening air held hints of coffee and cigars, garlic and onions, and Ghost pulled in another deep breath. The historic district of Ybor City was much like New Orleans’ Bourbon Street. Done Cuban style.
“The school year is almost over.” He smiled down at Valerie.
“Tomorrow. Finally. I’m looking forward to the break before summer school starts.” Her face went soft as she added, “And I’ll have time to spend with the children—and Luca.”
“Did Dillon get back?” Her son had spent a few months setting up a manufacturing plant in China.
Her face lit up. “I forgot to tell you. He texted yesterday he was back. And planned to spend a few days recovering from jet lag and doing laundry.”
Ghost gave her a tug on her hair. “Knowing you, you’re dying to go stock his kitchen and do his laundry.”
“Well, mmm, yes?” Her expression was rueful. “But he’s very proud of his independence and being a man now, so I won’t.”
Ghost took her arm to bring her to a halt so he could watch her instead of the street. “Valerie, are you ever planning to tell your children about me? The two of us?”
“I… Yes.” She exhaled, then rested her forehead against his shoulder. “I’m being foolish, I know. I guess I’m scared at how they’ll react, since they still want me and Barry to get back together.”
He rested his hand on her nape, wishing he could fix everything for her. But this battle was hers to fight. “They might not give up their hopes until they realize you’ve moved on.”
“Which means my stalling is having the wrong effect.” Straightening, she smiled up at him. “You’re right. I need to stop being a coward and let them know.”
“You’re not a coward, lass, merely cautious.” Because her asshole parents and husband had ripped her loving heart open. Her children had damned well better not do the same.
“They’re good children. They’ll understand.” She bit her lip for a moment. “I’ll have them over this weekend and tell them about you. You’re going to be gone anyway.”
A bunch of his Special Forces buddies were gathering at Eglin Air Force base to celebrate a friend’s retirement from the service. Since it was over a six-hour drive, he wouldn’t be back until the wee hours Sunday night.
“I’m going to miss you, you know.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and started moving again.
“Me, too.” As they stepped off the curb to cross the street, she eyed his leg. “How does your new prosthesis feel? You’re not limping today.”
Rather than being embarrassed she noticed when he limped, he appreciated her concern. “The microprocessor and hydraulic ankle make it better on sta
irs and rough ground. It’s heavier than a basic carbon foot, though.”
“But you like the zing of cutting-edge technology.”
“Well, yeah, I’m a guy.” He grinned at her huff of laughter.
Inside the art gallery, he picked up a flyer about the four emerging, modern-impressionist artists. “Despite being Tuesday, they’ve drawn a good crowd.”
“Natalia must be so excited.” Valerie studied the milling people. “I hope there are more collectors than family and friends.”
He spotted discreet “Sold” tags on many of the paintings. “I don’t think you need to worry.”
“Worrying is listed somewhere in the “friend” manifesto.”
“Then it’s good you have that item covered.” He gazed down at her. “You know, I rather like the New Yorker style on you—black pants, black blazer.”
She chuckled. “It’s in bad taste if your clothing competes with the art.”
He ran his knuckles over her shimmery blue shirt. “This matches your gorgeous eyes.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “So Hailey said. It was a Yule present.”
Would she still flush from a compliment after they’d been together a few years? Smiling, he bent to capture a quick kiss.
Yeah, he really loved this woman.
They were good together—all the time, not just for the sex and scenes. He looked forward to their quiet evenings…and also when they went out. She’d been with him for university events, faculty lunches, and evenings with other couples like Linda and Sam.
Everything was more enjoyable with her companionship.
It appeared she felt the same way about him, since she was with him every evening and night. Gradually, her clothing was filling in the spaces he’d emptied for her.
She still had her apartment—her security blanket, she called it. On her own, she’d obtained a recommendation for a counselor from Gabi and was working through her parents’ neglect and how her ex’s slaves had resurrected the issues.
Last weekend at the Shadowlands, she’d been much more comfortable with her body. And, even though aging had bothered her, she’d never disliked or questioned who she was. She liked herself.
He did, too.
The Effing List Page 30
